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Cover2Cover Books is an independent and innovative publisher of South
African fiction and non-fiction. The latter is published through its
imprint Face2Face Books. Cover2Cover releases thought-provoking
and compelling South African stories: the titles are sharp and edgy
appealing to a broad market – from teens in townships to book clubs in
suburbs. Now to teens all over the world will have access to these
stories about and from their peers in Africa.

Memoirs of an Unsung Legend: Nemeso

Nemeso – a four eyed man–lived in southeastern Zimbabwe in the mid-17th century. Stories about him are widely known by the Duma in southeastern Zimbabwe as he left a legacy, a delicious dish – of edible stinkbugs locally named harurwa. These insects, believed to be a gift to Nemeso by the ancestors, thrive in a grove (jiri) where no one has been allowed to meddle since the time of Nemeso, the medium through whom the stinkbugs were gifted to the living by the living-dead. The insects are a source of livelihood for the Duma people and for people beyond, and serve as a drive for forest conservation in the area. The wealthy stories of Nemeso’s life have been passed on through oral tradition. This book, generated from an ethnographic reconstitution in southeastern Zimbabwe, documents the stories in a lively and fascinating thirst quenching manner.

About the Authors

Munyaradzi Mawere is a PhD student in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and a senior lecturer at Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique. He has written and published books and a number of papers with internationally accredited referred peer journals.

Cosmas M. Mukombe was born in the Norumedzo area in Bikita in Zimbabwe and is one of the grandsons of Nemeso. He earned Builders’ Instructors Diploma from the Institute of Penhalonga Technical College, Zimbabwe. Besides spending time building, Mukombe is a wonderful storyteller who enjoys reading.

Christopher M. Mabeza is a PhD researcher in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. At an environmental organization in Harare, Zimbabwe he spearheaded environmental education around the country. He has published on adaptation to climate by smallholder farmers in rural Zimbabwe and is researching water harvesting techniques in semi-arid southern Zimbabwe.